Severe Weather Awareness Week: Severe Weather, Lightning & Hail

Thunderstorms don’t necessarily cover a large area–about 15 miles in diameter–but they can be dangerous.  Wind gusts of at least 58 miles an hour can cause severe damage.  In fact, damage from severe wind accounts for half of all weather damage in the lower 48 states and is more common than tornado damage.  When there’s a threat of a severe thunderstorm, act as if it’s a tornado warning.  Go to the lowest floor of your home, get underneath something sturdy, like a table, and have something to cover your head.  Also, stay away from windows—you don’t want to get hit with flying glass.  If you live in a mobile home park, go to the designated shelter area.

Something else you find with severe thunderstorms is hail.  Most hail is pea-sized, but there are times when hail will be as big as a golf ball, even as big as a softball.  And large sized hail can cause major damage and even kill people.

Another part of a severe thunderstorm is lightning.  Lightning kills an average of 43 Americans each year.  If you can hear thunder, you’re close enough to be hit by lightning.  When you hear thunder, get inside!  And stay away from electrical equipment, like a computer, that puts you in direct contact with electricity.  If you can’t get to a shelter, get away from bodies of water, like a lake or pond.  Don’t take shelter under a tree.  And don’t lie flat on the ground.  

We’ll continue our Severe Weather Awareness Week coverage Wednesday with talk about floods.